Exoskeletons and Chitin
Exoskeletons are often formed of chitin. This is pronounced ‘kite tin’.
The crab had hold of a kite made of tin (chitin), but the kite flew out of the exit (exoskeleton) door.
Crabs have exoskeletons, and the exit door reminds us of exoskeletons.
A grasshopper emerges from its former exoskeleton.
As chitinous exoskeletons are rigid, they need to be shed in order to accommodate the animal’s growth. A new, larger exoskeleton is secreted from the epidermis, prior to the shedding of the old one. Chitin is formed of modified glucose molecules.
